Silver Lining
by Keybearer001
Summary: Ruby planned to return to the Enchanted Forest, but a captivating stranger made her rethink her decision. Month's later, Ruby remincises about her Silver Lining.


**Hello. Welcome to my brand new Once upon a Time** **fan fiction story. I originally was not a fan of this show, at least at the time when it came out, but a friend of mine suggested the show to me before the sixth season and since then, I have been binge watching the show. When I got to the episode Ruby Slippers, I found my dissatisfied with Ruby and Dorothy's romance. As a result a plot bunny gave me the idea for this story. I attempted to write it, but due to writers block and a lack of reception I abandoned the idea entirely, but decided to soft reboot the story detailing the summary of what would have happened, while making it more of a story about Ruby's thoughts in the aftermath.**

 **Would I have liked to see this story written out in its entirety. Yes, I would, but like movies, sometimes a writer and a story subject don't mix. I like OUAT, but I guess I can't write a good story even if I have an idea for it. Which is a shame because I have more ideas for the show. but I would rather request someone write them for me rather than write it myself. If anyone is interested in writing said stories, PM me.**

 **On a semi related note, a portion of this story was inspired by Happy Endings, written by Sehrezad. So if you are reading this, thank you for providing me with some inspiration and for writing some very cute OUAT fic's with my OTP from the show.**

* * *

Ruby eyes snapped open, tears brimming in her eyes as she was suddenly woken from her nightmare. The young woman abruptly sat up, tightly clenching her blanket as if her life depended on it. Cold sweat dripped down her neck as she tried to regain control of her breathing. After a few moments, Ruby was able to regain her breath, but her therapy did little to sooth the sense of dread that settled in the pit of her stomach.

Despite the warm blanket that covered her, Ruby felt cold, shivering as she glanced out the window of her small apartment. The storm that began a little after dinner seemed to only get worse as the night went on. The wind was howling and lightning flashed across the sky as nature's wrath rained down across the quaint town of Storybrooke.

Letting the blanket fall, Ruby revealed her bare upper body. Grabbing the robe that lay on the floor beside her, Ruby slipped out of the bed donned the thin nightgown, tying it securely in order to protect her modesty, before making her way to the kitchen for a mug of hot chocolate.

The apartment wasn't exactly extravagant, curse or not, but Ruby didn't exactly have much money on her, even with her job at the diner and the occasional extra pay she received working at the station with Emma on her days off, but it was enough, especially after all she had been through.

Entering the kitchen, the young wolf walked barefoot across the tiled floor. Going over to pantry, Ruby opened the door, revealing a large amount of goods that she had bought either from the diner or from the market.

Alas the hot chocolate was just out of Ruby's reach, fingers just grazed the box of the delicious desert she sought.

Groaning in frustration, Ruby reached for the pack once again, but just as her fingers grazed the package, another hand reached from behind her and effortlessly grabbed the item.

Ruby turned around, folding her arms across her chest. Despite her annoyance, her lips twitched as she stared at her lover, Van. Dressed in nothing but his underwear, Van looked outright gorgeous to Ruby.

A rather mysterious young man, Ruby couldn't have asked for a more willing partner, especially not after the adventure that they had together.

* * *

It had been several months ago, back when Ruby was considering leaving Storybrooke, after the defeat of the Wicked Witch, Zelina and the birth of Mary Margaret's and David's newborn son Prince Neal. She had felt alone and lost in the town, as she was the only werewolf, not counting her grandmother, who had long since lost the ability to transform. Thankfully fate had a very different plan for her.

With tears brimming in her eyes, Ruby walked down the main street of Storybrooke, wanting to find a good place away from the prying eyes of those who would wish to follow her back to the Enchanted Forest, At a time where it seemed that the entire town would be able to leave Storybrooke and return to the Enchanted forest, a Giant appropriately called Tiny was able to fertilize a field filled with Enchanted Beans, capable of transporting the user across dimensions. Unfortunately they had been destroyed by Regina in an attempt to keep her happy ending (even though the curse she created to take away everyone's happy ending had already been broken by Emma). Sure some people wanted to go home, but for the most part the town seemed content living in Storybrooke. Ruby was the only one that was not. So, while everyone was dealing with the Wicked Witch, Ruby helped Tiny cultivate the field and was able to produce one bean. Now all she had to do was use it and she would be able to find a wolf pack back in the enchanted forest.

Where she wouldn't feel so alone.

Ruby sighed as she walked down passing Gold shops and making her way closer to the town line. If there was one thing she could count on, it was that no one was around this part of town, or anywhere near the town line for that matter, since she could still hear the music and partying from the diner from where she was standing.

At least she was able to say goodbye to Mary Margaret, who was the only one who knew that she was leaving. Ruby was grateful that May Margaret was allowing her to leave; her old friend was even willing to say goodbye to Granny for her; Ruby was unable to look at her in the eye at tell the only family she had left that she wanted to leave the quaintness and craziness that surrounded the isolated town that they had been trapped in for 3 decades. One could argue that since her grandmother had once been a werewolf herself, that was reason enough for her to stay in Storybrooke, but Ruby would argue that at her stage in life, her grandmother was more human that wolf having long since lost her ability to transform into a wolf, which was more of a blessing than a curse at her age. Therefore, Ruby was the only person with that curse. The only time she ever felt like she belonged anywhere was when she was with her mother, but at the time Ruby was more than willing to stay with her birth mother, but not at the cost of losing her best friend to her werewolf savagery.

No. Ruby wanted to find others like her. The Enchanted Forest was a big place; surely there were others like her. That was the plan. Return to the enchanted forest and find a pack where she truly belonged, where she could fit in and not feel like an outcast. She already felt like a pariah; King George, now known as Albert Spencer had tried to have her killed, and most of the town's people had believed him. it had been his way at getting back at David, but Ruby was the one that was blamed for his actions. Yet another reason for her to leave town; at least in the enchanted forest she could hunt Animals and not be blamed for something so trivial as survival.

She could feel the bean in her pocket. The more she walked the heavier it felt. She tried to ignore it, but it seemed that the farther she walked away from the diner, the more pronounced it became. This was it. Her once chance at finding happiness. She wanted to do this; to find what she felt was missing in her life. To fill the empty void that was in her heart.

So why did it feel like she was having a heart attack?

Ruby stopped in her tracks, lifting a hand to her eyes, wiping away the tears that began to flow down her face. It was in vain; the tears just kept coming. A choked sob escaped Ruby's throat, and the next thing she knew, she was on the nearest bench that she could find, weeping softly at the emotions running through her body. She would have been glad if Emma and Snow were here to comfort her, like they had when she had tried to leave town on the (nonexistent) bus service. But because of her choice, she was going to be alone until she was able to find others like her.

She remained immobile on the bench until she had no more tears to cry. Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned her head to gaze down the street. The first thing she noticed was Moe French's (Belle's father) rosary.

Ruby had always loved roses. Maybe, before she left, she could smell the roses of Storybrooke one last time before leaving forever.

She got off of the bench and gingerly skipped over to the Game of Thorns, before bending over and sniffing the nearest rose. She inhaled the intoxicating scent, already heightened due to wolf senses. There really was nothing like the scent of roses. If there was one thing she would miss from her time in Storybrooke, it would be visiting the Game of Thorns every morning before going to work her shift at her Granny's Dinner. That and her grandmothers delicious cooking. Oh great, just what she needed, another reminder of why she shouldn't leave. Her stomach began growling at the thought. Maybe at the very least she should have brought a snack for her journey.

"Beautiful," a smooth voice said next to her, startling the young woman out of her thoughts. She stood up right and turned towards the sound of the voice, and her heart stopped dead. Next to her was a young man with deep blue eyes, dark brown hair and a thin build. He stood there, his frame begetting an almost cocky, yet foreboding presence, but the smile and tender look in his eyes betrayed the dark look he seemed to give off. He was a little taller than her, but not by much. He dressed in a way that could be described as business casual wearing a black button up shirt and black slacks, with black leather shoes. Surprisingly, despite the weather, he was wearing black gloves along with his outfit

Ruby was at a loss for words more a moment, completely paralyzed at this stranger's sudden appearance, even more so at the fact that her werewolf senses didn't even pick up on his approach to begin with.

But he was just so… captivating.

Ruby couldn't even bring herself to berate him for being so forward. Granted he wasn't being quite as creepy as the resident pervert Dr. Whale, but the fact remained that other than August, and her long since deceased boyfriend, Peter, she never felt so drawn to someone before (even then, this felt different because she had a mild intimacy with Peter and only flirted with August briefly while he visited the Diner). But this, she couldn't identify it, but she wanted to explore it before leaving for sure.

"The flowers, Milady" he continued, almost causing Ruby to giggle at the absurdity of the situation. It was like he was trying to compliment her then retract a bit as to not come off so strongly as to avoid scaring her off.

Not that Ruby was an easily scared damsel in distress. If this man was indeed similar to Dr. Whale she could handle herself, both in and out of her wolf form.

Instead, the young maiden's face broke into a wide, yet flattered grin, "Milady?" she chuckled, trying to hide the (ironic) red tint on her cheeks. "Where are you from?"

Oh God that was a dumb question and she knew that as soon as she said them. They were in Storybrooke. The only place anyone from here could be was the enchanted forest, save for a few individuals (which amounted to Zelina, Dr. Whale and Henry Mills), so she had just vaguely answered her own question.

Yet another reason she felt that her attraction to this mysterious stranger was different than why she had every felt before. She never felt so flustered when speaking to anyone before.

Thankfully, the Stranger just smiled and played along "A long way from here." He responded vaguely, though knowing the nature of Storybrooke, it wasn't much of a joke.

The tension, whether awkward or romantic (or dare Ruby think sexual) between them remained for a few brief moments, Ruby unable to remove her eyes from this strangers unwavering gaze. Ruby could feel the blood try and rush into her cheeks, and she desperately tried to not look suspicious.

Ruby was finally able to break the unwavering gaze as she awkwardly looked away then back at the Stranger "well goodnight." She muttered, before hastily turning away and quickly walking back toward her intended destination.

She didn't make it more than a few feet before she heard his charming voice again "is there a need to run, when you know that there is nowhere to go?" Ruby stopped in her tracks, her senses going wild. How did this man know what she had planned? She turned around, her eyes wide as she stared at the man with a new found suspicion " How did you know?"

The young man just continued to smile and walked toward her, gazing in her own green eyes "I'm good at knowing when someone wants to run, and feel like they belong somewhere." There was nothing but honesty lacing his tone and despite her suspicions, Ruby once again drawn to the man's voice. "I can see it in your walk; in your eyes. You want to reach out to another. "

Ruby couldn't believe that this man was able to reach her so easily. It sent shivers down her spine and found herself completely dumbfounded as she once again gazed into the Stranger's eyes. "I'm Ruby," she whispered, almost flirtatiously

To her surprise, the Stranger grabbed her hand, yet she didn't pull away. Instead she watched as he brought it up to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. "Van," he replied before placing a tender kiss on the top of her knuckles. He let go of her hand and Ruby soon found herself staring into his eyes once more, now unable to even think about leaving Storybrooke, despite the bean that remained in her pocket.

The two remained there for a moment, lost in each other's presence, before Ruby tilted her head, inviting Van to join her on her walk.

Together, the two walked down Main Street and into the night.

* * *

Several months and one whirlwind life threatening adventure later, Ruby had finally discovered her place in the world. In Storybrooke, with Van. That wasn't to say that Ruby hadn't had her doubts, she had almost lost her life on more than one occasion, including being rerouted onto a near one way trip to the Underworld, which lead to Oz, and finally to the World without Color, where the journey had come to an end before finally returning to Storybrooke.

But that journey had taught her something. Just because you were the only one of her kind, you weren't alone.

Van gave her a smile, his piercing blue eyes gazing into Ruby's soul, before saying "Trouble sleeping love?" he asked smoothly.

Ruby sighed, giving her lover a look. Even when they first met Van seemed to be able to read her mind. The young man chuckled, before taking the box in his hand and going to the fridge, grabbing the milk, before setting it and the hot chocolate on the counter, before grabbing a pair of mugs and a spoon and began getting to work on the hot chocolate.

Ruby watched him work, mesmerized by how Van moved. Everything was deliberate, precise, leaving no room for error. Given who his father was and who raised him, Ruby wasn't sure why she should even be surprised.

As with all of the inhabitants of Storybrooke, Van was not a native of the so called Land without Magic, but unlike most people brought over by Regina's curse, he was not from the Enchanted Forest.

As Van Stoker, life wasn't the best for the young man. He had to deal with a rather terrible home life, all centered around his father Draco Stoker. Draco was a wealthy Judge in Storybrooke, a friend of the just as cruel Albert Spencer. All he wanted was power and as a judge, he had more than enough power to be not just the judge, but the jury and executioner of those who were unfortunate enough to suffer his wrath.

Van did not have a good relationship with his father. At an early age, it seemed apparent to Van that his father was a bit of a selfish woman loving (literally) bastard who cared little for his son, only loving the taste of alcohol in his mouth and having a multitude of woman in his bed. Due to this, Van was left of into the care of his far more qualified family member, his younger brother Gabriel.

At first, Van was saddened by his fathers complete disregard for him, wanting nothing more than to make his father proud, but it soon became apparent to him, that Draco held nothing for his offspring. He had been to young to understand, but after Gabriel adopted the child while still a toddler and he was old enough Van finally understood why he was the target of Draco's rage.

Draco had once been a kind and charismatic young man, who fell in love with a young woman named Mina while still in his early adult years. The two married, and soon enough, Mina fell pregnant. But on the day of Van's birth, there had been complications and shortly after Van's birth, his mother died, leaving Van motherless and Draco wifeless. As a result, Draco fell into depression and often blamed his son for the death of the only person he had ever loved. He neglected the child regularly, often leaving him in the care of nanny's and barely spared even a glance towards his son.

At the tender age of two, Draco began beating his son, often leaving the child in the hospital in critical care. Alas, Draco was charismatic and cunning enough to blame it on Van's Nanny's, all of who were sentenced to years in prison. Some month's later Draco's rage had increased to the point where he almost killed his son, but Gabriel had happened to enter the house and see Draco about to slit the young child's throat. Gabriel had stopped him, and took the child away, reavealing Draco's hideous acts. Resulting in Draco being institutionalized for most of Van's life, but after being deemed healthy, Draco was released and thus he began his new life by bedding any woman whom he came across, no doubt as a way to cope for his wife's death and as a result of Draco's treatment of him, Van had no contact with his father.

Van grew up under the tender care of his Uncle, whom he saw as a father. Gabriel had been a priest and a good friend of Mina's. He fell in love with her, but she chose Draco over him (also knowing that as a priest, Gabriel had taken a vow and thus could not be strayed from his path.) After her death and Draco's subsequent arrest, Gabriel vowed to protect Van to honor his lost love and the man his brother had once been.

Van eventually became the curator of the Storybrooke museum, also run part time by his uncle while also being the history and archeology teacher at Storybrooke High School. Despite how his life had started, Van truly had a happy ending.

However, upon Emma breaking the curse, Van's true memories returned, and with it, memories of a cursed existence and a terrible childhood.

Born in the Land without Color, Vlad Tepes the IV was the son of Count Dracula and Mirena, a human woman who was seduced by Dracula. After a brief affair, Dracula proposed to Mirena, intending to turn her into a vampire and making her his bride, but before the wedding, and by extension, Merina's transformation into vampire could be completed, Dracula was attacked and defeated by his Archrival, Abraham Van Helsing, who saved Merina from a terrible fate. However, it was later discovered that due to her brief encounters with the Prince of Darkness, Merina fell pregnant with a half human, half vampire offspring.

Mirena went through the pregnancy normally at first, but when it was apparent that her child would have vampiric characteristics of its father (evidenced by Mirena's deteriorating condition as she went through her pregnancy), the Catholic Church attempted to kill her and thus save the world from the harbinger of death growing inside her.

However, in an act of selflessness, Van Helsing repulsed the attempt on the young woman's life and hid her away from the prying eyes of those who would wish her dead.

Smuggled into a remote cottage by the countryside Mirena progressed through her pregnancy watched over by Van Helsing. The two fell in love and married and eventually, Mirena gave birth to a healthy son. Despite being the child of his hated enemy, Abraham treated the boy as his own, even naming the boy after the man he was once proud to call his friend.

However fate was not kind to Van Helsing's family. Despite his human appearance Vlad's thirst for human blood were apparent from the day he was born, and eventually Abraham and Mirena were attacked after Vlad was seen drinking blood of a squirrel.

Despite his best attempts, Van Helsing was unable to save his wife, who had been captured and burned at the stake by the mob. Left alone to care for the child, Van Helsing vowed on his departed wife's grave that he would protect their son, as well as kill Dracula for causing her death. This began a renewed blood feud between the two, as Van Helsing blamed Dracula for Mirena's death, while Dracula vowed to kill his offspring as well in order to 'erase' Mirena from the world.

As Vlad grew older, Abraham began to become distant with the young vampire; while Van Helsing held no anger toward his son he soon began to realize that Vlad was in more danger than he realized.

Being half human, Vlad was spared some of the weaknesses of a full vampire; he was able to withstand sunlight, and was not affected by crucifixes or holy water. Though he possessed enhanced agility strength and speed similar to his father as well as the ability to turn into a horde of bats for fight, Dracula was a full vampire and thus his abilities far outclassed Vlad's and with his ability to transform into a full fledged bat like creature and his ability to control the creature's of the night, Vlad would ultimately prove no match for his sire.

As Vlad was reaching his adult years, living on the run with Van Helsing (who fought with Dracula on more than one occasion during this time) Van Helsing soon encountered Rumplestiltskin, who was in need of a man of Van Helsing's caliber, and offered him for a way to destroy Dracula, if he assisted him in the Enchanted Forest. Van Helsing agreed, and soon, he and Vlad were taken to the other dimension.

Once there, Vlad explored the Enchanted Forest, until he came across a grieving Queen Regina. Upon realizing that the Queen and he shared the same pain (loss of a loved one) Vlad offered to kill the person Regina hated most, in return for assistance with his father.

However, when Vlad discovered the person Regina hated was a young woman remarkably similar to his mother, who would rather die helping those she loved, he returned to the Queen and refused to kill one so pure and kind hearted. Angered by the betrayal, Regina attempted to kill the young man, but he was able to escape her, and returned to his father

Rumplestiltskin paid Van Helsing for his services and promptly returned Van Helsing and his son to their world.

Van Helsing and Vlad soon encountered Dracula, but before Abraham could finally kill Dracula, the Queen's Dark curse engulfed them and transported them to Storybrooke where they lived none the wiser as Draco, Gabriel and Van Stoker.

Unfortunately, once the curse had been broken, Van's and Draco's powers returned full force, and with it, their blood lust for one another. but between the constant threats in Storybrooke and Van's foresight to prepare for his fathers return Draco never had the chance to take action against his son or enemy until that night.

Van and Ruby had simply been walking when Draco, approached them. Before Van could warn Ruby of Draco's intent, Draco transformed into the bat like monster and attacked Van. In response, Van had transformed into a horde of bats and fled with Ruby. Van fled with Ruby to a church, the only safe haven from his father's wrath, where he revealed to her of his Vampiric origins.

To say the Ruby had been shocked was an understatement, but knowing Storybrooke and the fact she was a Werewolf made her believe it really quick. Knowing that Draco would continue to attack him, Van begged Ruby to flee, but Ruby refused, saying that she wouldn't abandon a friend, and revealed her magic bean. Using it, she transported the two of them to the Enchanted Forest.

Believing them safe at the moment, Ruby revealed to Van that it had been her intention to return to the enchanted forest and now that they were here, she begged him to help her find others like her. Left with no choice, Van agreed.

However, things turned rough when the duo met a witch in a distant kingdom and apparently sensing their hidden abilities, the witch turned Ruby into a wolf to guard her cottage, while also turning Van into bat and kept him caged. Eventually Ruby was freed by a warrior named Mulan, who was able to reverse the spell and restore her to her original form, but Van remained a bat, as Mulan had used up all the potion that was used to restore Ruby. Upon realizing her failed quest cost Van his humanity, Ruby asked Mulan to help her find a way to restore Van to his original form. In doing so, she revealed to Mulan of her growing feelings for Van.

Eventually the two made there way to the Land of Oz, where Ruby met Dorothy Gale who was in search of her dog Toto. Ruby Mulan and Dorothy found Toto in the claws of the Wicked Witch. Zelina demanded a pair of Silver slippers in Dorothy's possession, but Dorothy refused and together the Trio fled, this time in search of a Poppy, in hopes of being able to use it in a potion against Zelena. During this time, despite her growing feelings for Van (and perhaps of the fact he was a bat), Ruby was also drawn to Dorothy, a sentiment Ruby shared with Mulan, as she felt conflicted with her feelings for both of the people in her life. While Mulan could not help her with Van, she urged Ruby to reveal her feelings for Dorothy, but the other girl had left alone to confront the Witch.

With Mulan's advice, Ruby tracked Zelina down, eventually traveling to the underworld( Zelina had ended up there because Hades brought her there), and demanded to know where Dorothy was, and Zelina revealed that Dorothy had been placed under a sleeping curse and gave her the slippers to go save her. Fearful true loves kiss wouldn't work (due to her conflicted feelings), Ruby tried another way. Remembering that Dorothy had told her of an Aunt that gave Dorothy Toto, Ruby was able to track Auntie Em down, but was stopped by Hades, who was able to send Auntie Em to the river of lost souls. Left with no choice, Ruby returns to Oz with the slippers and much to her shock was able to revive Dorothy with true loves kiss. Moved by sudden inspiration, Ruby kissed the transformed Van and restored him to his original form. Despite knowing that Dorothy was her 'first' true love, Ruby decided to stay with Van, knowing that he needed her in order to help deal with his father.

As the two were about to return to Storybrooke, Draco had suddenly arrived (he had used his own method of tracking Van down, interfered by Ruby taking him to the underworld) and Ruby's sudden fear caused the slippers to return herself, Van and Draco to the Land without Color. Despite this, Van realized that this gave him a home field advantage and after a lengthy fight with Draco, was able to lure him to a church and finally vanquish his father with holy water.

With their problems all but over, Ruby used the slippers to return to Storybrooke with Van, where they find in their absence The Charming family dealt with a Snow Queen, a renegade Author who cast yet another spell on the town and a Quest to Camelot that culminated in Captain Hook, Emma's boyfriend to sacrifice himself to rid Storybrooke of the Dark One's power. This failed, as the power returned to Rumplestiltskin in a series of events, but Emma was eventually able to move on from the pain with the help of August Booth, aka a grown up Pinocchio.

After that, Ruby and Van had moved in together, and life had been normal for them ever since. Sure, the Charming's were still dealing with things, but Ruby and Van tried to just live their lives as normal as possible.

Of course that would be easy if Ruby didn't suffer from nightmares about her adventure. Which was why she was awake right now.

Ruby was brought out of her thoughts by the smell of hot chocolate and she looked up to find Van staring at her with mugs of hot chocolate in his hands, a tender smile on his lips. "Drink"

Ruby smiled, taking one of the mugs from her boyfriend. She gingerly inhaled the soothing scent, before taking a sip. The warm liquid felt like heaven and it soothed her nerves. Swallowing the drink, Ruby opened her eyes and looked at Van "Thanks Van." She whispered, leaning against the counter for support.

Van smiled, looking at his girlfriend with admiration and love "Another nightmare?" he asked, his eyes shining with concern. He was no stranger to nightmares, having suffered from them frequently himself. Being a vampire would do that to you. During his travels with Ruby, as he began to fall in love with her, Van began to suffer nightmares about giving into his lust for her blood. Thanks to his half human heritage, Van's thirst for blood wasn't as strong as his fathers, but Ruby just drove him wild. As their first time would tell everyone. They had been so lost in the passion that Van had bit Ruby hard enough to make her bleed. Unlike Draco, who didn't know when to stop, Van's issue was that he didn't know how long he could go until he gave into the urge to drink.

Van had been horrified, but to his surprise, it had turned Ruby on even more and she begged him to continue. Whether or not this was because of Ruby's own sexual appetites, or due to her Werewolf heritage, Van didn't know, but the rest of the night was magical and they had no regrets.

Ruby took another sipped of her drink before nodding. As much as she hated to admit it, the nightmares did scare her, mostly because Draco had scared her whenever he was able to track the down. Sure she was dating a vampire who was just has charming but there was something about the original that was utterly terrifying. Not to mention, during the final bout, Ruby had tried to attack the Prince of Darkness in her wolf form and received quite the beating for her troubles. It didn't help that Draco had made several lecherous comments towards her. Dr. Whale had nothing on a guy who managed to make the most disturbing comments actually sound charming.

Ruby sighed, finishing her mug of chocolate, before placing it down on the counter. Smiling Van took the mug, poured out the rest of his drink then placed them in the sink, before going back to Ruby. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a tender kiss on her lips. Ruby sighed, placing her hands on Van's chest and deepened the kiss.

Of all the people Ruby could have ever ended up with, she couldn't believe that she had fallen in love with a Vampire. Then again she was a Werewolf, so maybe she had this coming. Normal men weren't able to handle her, but Van was no normal man.

She pulled away, before leaning against Van, placing her head on his chest. The mug of hot chocolate had soothed her nerves, but hearing Van's beating heart lulled her into a state of peace. " I love you Van." She whispered,

Van held onto her tighter, kissing the top of her head "I love you too, Ruby."

Before Ruby could say anything else, Van suddenly picked Ruby up bridal style, startling her. "Van!" Ruby laughed, gripping onto Van in order to support her self. Van just gave her a roguish grin, before carrying Ruby back to the bedroom. He went over to bed. Giggling, Ruby placed a kiss on Van's jaw, before grabbing the sash on her waist, and undid the tie, shrugging her shoulders, Ruby let the robe slip off of her, leaving her as bare as the day she was born. Van grinned, before placing her down on the bed. Ruby scooted over, allowing Van to slide in beside her. Grabbing the covers, Van pulled the comforter over them, before sinking into the pillows.

Ruby sighed, curling up into Van's side. She placed her head on his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat lulling her back to sleep.

The storm rage on outside, but it no longer disturbed Ruby or her lover. They had quite the adventure, one that had left quite the impression. Ruby had thought she was alone in Storybrooke, as the only Werewolf in the town. She thought that she had to leave and return to the Enchanted Forest. But it turned out the person she was looking for was right beside her all along. Like her, Van was the only one of his kind in a town full of magical creatures and fairy tale characters.

Even when your life is full of tragedy and hopelessness, there was always a chance at love. To Van and Ruby, it seemed after every tragedy, one could always find their silver lining.

* * *

 **Spoilers for the 5th season below. Do not read if you haven't caught up.**

 **If anyone is confused about the story, let me explain. Like I said, this story was inspired by Happy Endings. In that fanfic, What I gathered was that after the events of the first half of season five, Emma never traveled to the Underworld, thus she never rescued Hook and fell in love with another prior to Hook's death, so this story ties into that. Emma never traveled to the Underworld, she never rescued Hook and Hook was never brought back to life. On that note, Hooks revival in season five irritated me to no end. Emma spent the entire second half of the season trying (and failing) to return Hook to the land of the living and when all was said and done, Hook was brought before Zeus** **, and the God promptly brought him back to life, negating everything that Emma want through. Due ex Machina, thy name is** **Zeus! For crying out loud, to me that felt like fan service and the writers own desire to seep CaptainSwan going even though the story arc continuously end out of its way to make it seem impossible. I'm just saying, they could have found a way to bring Hook back to life without waiting until the last possible second!**

 **Honestly, I would have rather Hook stayed dead and let the storyline have Emma end up with another character, with whom I felt that she had much better chemistry with. If you're wondering who I'm talking about, read Happy Endings by Sehrezad.**

 **As for this story, I do not hate the fact that Ruby is bi sexual, let alone with** **Dorothy. Both characters did not have a love interest in the source material (at least that I am aware of, in any story with Little Red Riding Hood or the old Wizard of Oz movie) or the show (** **long lasting in Red's case) In fact Ruby was initially going to be paired with Dr. Whale (ok, can someone tell me why it would seem like a good idea to put the Town Pervert with the Resident Eye Candy?) during the 5th season, but Meghan Ory had left the shows cast during the season (even though she hadn't appeared since the 3rd season), so rather than ignore her like they do everybody else who appears for an episode or two, the writers decided to write her off rather clumsily by pairing her with Dorothy in the span of ONE Episode!**

 **So why they did that baffles me. In fact, the whole reason behind Ruby's appearance in the 5th season baffle me. She had a magic bean the whole time, so rather than having somebody use it to return to the Enchanted Forest after the defeat of Zelina, she decides to use it to return to the Enchanted Forest alone because she felt alone as the only Werewolf? HELLO?! WHAT ABOUT YOUR GRANDMOTHER RUBY?! SURE SHE CAN'T TRANSFORM INTO A WEREWOLF, BUT SHE IS STILL YOUR FAMILY! It just screams lazy writing, like the writers had no idea what to do with her and explain why she hadn't made an appearance for a season even though they never do that for any other supporting character like Pinocchio who just disappears until he is needed again, plus it robs the show of being able to use her in later seasons for something like the Werewolf (they already used Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde so why not the classic Werewolf, though I was never a fan of using classic literature characters outside of Fairy Tales or Disney movies, like they have been recently), if the opportunity should arise unless they have to rewrite her into the show just as clumsily as they had written her out.**

 **If you got this far, thanks for listening and let me know what you think!**


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